Wheel and tire construction



Aug. 14, 192s.

EIA-@5.2M E. H. ACKERMAN WHEEL AND TIRE CONSTRUCTIONv Filed Jan. 17, 1923 7 WITH/8858 ATTORNEYS Patented ug'. lll, i923.

Tt tWllCf EDWLRD H. ACKERMAN, OF IfONVTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY.

WHEEL AND yJlIIEtE i CONSTRUCTION.

Y AApplication led January 17, 1923. Serial No. 613,083.

T all whom 1f/may concer/n.' i i ing and deflating` one or more of the other Be it knownthat l, EDwAnnH. cnnnf containers. f MAN, a citizen of the United States, and a Pursuant tothe foregoing, the present inresident of Montclair, inA the county of vention has two main objects: Essex and State of New Jersey, have in The first of these main objects is to pro-- vented a new and Improved llVheel and Tire vide a general wheel and tire construction, Construction, of which the followingl is a in which containers of the above general 60 full, clear, and exact description. type form elements cooperating' with and This invention relates to resilient tires, located opposite to removable felly sections, adapted particularly for use on the wheels these felly sections being` arranged in alterof self-propelled vehicles. w nation all around the wheel with somewhat The'invention is of the general class of similar sections permanently connected to 65 those previously proposed for use in connecthe wheel hub; these parts in turn being inY tion with lan outer tire, preferably a tire of cooperative relation with a rim structure of the standardy type commonly called a tire a particular desig'in'and such rim structure, shoe, and comprising a substitute for the while adapted to permanently engage a usual inner tubeY consisting of a plurality of standard tire shoe, being bolted to certain 70 expansibletube'sections. felly sections in such a way' that when the i Previous attempts along` this line, howbolt or bolts particular to a certain removever, have provided the sections with indifable felly section are removed, that felly secvidual air containers so designed and in tion,ithe individual inflation valvecarried such association that the rim or felly of the thereby, and the container served by that t wheel orthe entireshoe must bev removedV valve, may all be instantly removed without when a particular container is injured; or disturbing any of the other parts, and so else elaborate conduit structures must be without removing the rim structure or the 4present so as to permit the use of asingle intire shoe from the wheel.

flation valve common yto all the containers, The second of said main objects is to proe@ .j in whichY case, of course, special lseparable vide a novel and improved type of conconnections must be incorporated between tainer, and one characterized by features of the different containers and said conduit construction based on certain discoveries and structure; or else `the injury and consequent actual tests which have been made. I have deflation ofa particular container has failed discovered that in a tire of the class to which S5 to permit the remaining uninjured conthis invention appertains, it is absolutely tainers to become redisposed in the Vtire shoe necessary to provide containers such that to give a substantially uniform and edequate when inflated they may have what may be distension of the tire shoe all around the termed a rolling,` action in practically all disame. reetions and that to this end they must be eo I rlhe present invention provides as a feature so constructed as to provide an interior inthereof a type of container which carries its Y cluding an annular chamber. The tests 4o ownV individual inflation valve and which is which l have made prove that excellent and adapted to be arranged with a pluralityof practical results may be obtained when such its fellows to completely lill the shoe and be containers are slightly elongated but of such nested therein in directend to end contact length that each serves. substantially oneall around theishoe; one of the Vimportant twelfth of the interior of the tire shoe. As 45 l features of this type of container' being the to this last defined relation, the same is, of entire elimination of any transverse particourse, not absolute, and represents only tions, of flexible material or otherwise, arpresent preference in the light of the tests i ranged inside the shoe for separating` the aforesaid.

different containers, as well as the elimina- The foregoing and other objects, and the 5a tion of'any inelastic hoods or similar adpinvention itself, will be clearly understood juncts for the containers to limit the amount lfrom the following description, when taken of abnormal distension to which any one or in connection with the acompanying draw- 105 several of them may be subjected on injuring, showing, as an example of the invention,

Vio

n of Fig. 2; andV a practical embodiment thereof asnowY preferred.

In this drawing:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a Vportion of VtheV wheel and tire construction,l partly broken away and partly in section;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view, taken sub stantially on the line2-2 of Fig. l and showing certain ofthe parts on an enlarged scale; t Fig.` 3 is a very inga transverse section taken Fig` .e shows, on the same scale as 'Figg 1 one of the containers in longitudinal section. Y

. Similar reference characters refer to siinilar oarts throughout the several views'of the drawing.

VReferring to the details of the drawing, there Vwill first lie-described one of the new containers adapted to be housed in a tire shoe 5 andadapted when inflated to bearranged in end to end direct contact therein "in accordance with the invention. Sucli container is shown in deflated condition at 6in Fig. 4t, andv it will be seen that container ,G includes opposite end walls V7, an inner vtubular wall S and. an outer tubular vall 9.

The individual inflation valve for such con# tainer is indicated at l0 and projects from theouter tubular wall 9 intermediate.the end walls 7 and preferably substantially midway Y T, -of the length ofthe container. l

f It will be understood that upon inflatingthe interior 1l of the container, of annularcross-section fromend to end of the 'container as'sliown, the outer sleeve `wall V9 Vof the container will become disposed as shown in Figs. ll andB, while the inner sleeve Wall 8l of thecontainer will become nietainorphosed into a compact rope-like struc ture indicated at 8a in Figs. V1- and 3; except, of c'oursethat the terminal parts ofthe two sleeve Walls S and 9 will flow and stretch to forni end walls 7 having the shapes `indi. cated in Figs. l and 3. o

Y Vhen a tire shoe ofthe kind indicated at ,5 is equipped,`by means of the special felly andriin structurevto be described in a inoinent, with a vs eriesof such containers, so spaced that when all are inflated -they directly cont-act eachother as indicated in Fi Y l, I have found that the tube which each container inV effectfinally shapes rolls or slides' from one side to the other, orfroni end ,to end and relatively tothe location of the valve lO in such a way that for the first time there` is apparently provided, and my new container, an innerV tube meansV where the air undergpressurein the tire shoe isnot in one single compartment, and yet the a-ii in any particular container inay'fbe coinpletely lost without causing an entire orv localiZed deflated condition of` the shoe. When any'container is punctured and de;

much enlarged vievnbe- A flated, the containers in its vicinity press against one anotherand jroll until the gap formerly Voccupied by the deated Vconof Vthis new 'container Voannot'be suliicient'ly dilated on to give -a true idea of its unexpectedly Yefficient perforniance.V lt has lbeen explained thatV the valve is.preferablyV located substantially midway between the oppositeeiids of the container; and the container when inflated .is closed. :,Tlie action j Vvor tainer Vis preferably made, forV ansordinaryl .Y

size automobile tire, by taking a Vpiecerof rubber tube about 1G long, which piece is then' rolled back on itself from opposite ends until suoli ends meet on'the exterior of and so-Y intermediate tlie length of a double tube 6%' or 7" long.,` Such rolled-backen'ds prefenably `meet midway of the length of the Vdouble tube, and are there joinedgzan'd here the air lvalve is preferably locatedyrind when the resi'iltingisleei'e-lile 4container i is inflated, 'the Y rubbercenter or coreY 1 0 acts, it is believed, as a'soift Vof balancefloating' between the stretched endfwalls 7 of the` container. rlllie operation of the new container appa,-

rently depends less upon the bulging, stretch'-`V Y ing or expansion ofthe end. wall 7, than f i upon the rolling, sliding or creeping of the outer sleeve wall 9 relative; to the innerV sleeve Wall 8, and hencea rolling for creeping of the container circumferentially of the shoe. Y Y Y It will be seen tliatjthe new-container as above describedV should, from a practical standpoint, forni a desirable, ifnot vessential element of a combination of parts forming a ,new wheel and'tire construction.A Such. A'

construction is alsolshownn' the ldraw'lgi Yand involves the provision of a collection of parts such4 that Vthe factthat eacl'rcorrtaiiier is. preferably provided Vwith its own individual air valve, may be V taken advantage of to reinove an injured ',containerand its valve land substitute another7` whenj a- Y more convenient place than a public road` way is reached, without requiring the shoe to bea-ernoved from the rim structure, orfvthe latter to be removed fromV the felly of the wheel. g Y

YTo these ends, the felly is built up of a series of arcuate'sections l2, permanently con-V nectedby spokes 13 with the hub leuof the wheel, 'such sections 12'being arranged inV alternation all around the wheelwith re inovable sectionslall as has heretofore iie 1 Viis been suggested, for instance in U, S. Letters Y pair of identical but oppositely facing rim members 16 having annular grooves 17 for engaging the tire, and bolted directly only to the sections 15 but to all such sections. lt will be observed in the present case that two bolts 18 engage the members 16 of the rim structureand each of said sections 12. Thus it will be clear that to remove any particular container 6, it is only necessary to remove the two bolts connected to the rim structure and a section 15 carrying the valve 10 of a deated container associated with that particular section 15.

Various slight changes might be made in the general form and arrangement of the parts described without departing from the invention, and hence I do not limit myself to the precise details set forth, but consider myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A wheel and tire constructionincluding a felly, a rim structure for clinching the base of a standard tire shoe carried by the felly, the elly being formed of a plurality of arcuate sections connected permanently to the wheel hub and a plurality of inwardly radially removable sections arranged around the felly in alternation with said arcuate sections, each of said removable sections carrying an air valve and an inflatable flexible container served individually by said valve, whereby said containers when in- Hated are arranged end to end all around the interior of the tire shoe, and bolts all engaging said rim structure but a different one engaging each of all said removable sections, whereby on injuryl to various ones of said containers only the bolts engaging the particular removable sections associated with the last-mentioned containers need be removed to permit removal of the last-mentioned removable sections and their containers; said containers being of rubber and including annular compartments.

2. An inflatable element for the interior of a flexible wheel-tire, including a container of less length than the tire and having walls of elastic material7 said container being elongate and having opposite end walls, the container having an interior including an annular compartment between said end walls.

EDWARD H. ACKERMAN. 

